If you are looking for a delicious appetizer, this Baked Spinach Dip is truly one to consider. It is a family favorite! Plus, make it for St. Patrick's Day . . . GREEN!
Baked Spinach Dip, perfect for St. Patrick's Day!
As I was pondering "green" foods for St. Patrick's Day, I ran across this Baked Spinach Dip that I made for a gathering of friends a few months ago. I thought, "Why not? After all, it is GREEN!!!"
While Spinach Dip is most likely NOT an Irish dish, it does fit into the "green" category. And, with Easter coming up, you might consider it as an appetizer for that holiday as well. It is one of our family favorite dips.
Baked Spinach Dip and Benjamin . . .
My grandson, Benjamin, came over the afternoon I made this Spinach … [Read more...]

This delicious Peanut Snow Mix is sure to become a favorite with your family and friends! Bag it up and give as gifts. I'm sure you will get rave reviews for this snack!
Peanut Snow Mix, A Holiday Tradition . . .
Snow Mix has become a holiday tradition! And, now, I'm adding Peanut Snow Mix to my list, which is a variation of the original. In fact, I think it is actually better than the original Snow Mix.
In my previous post, I shared with you that on Saturday, Trey and his children came over for me to help him make Snow Mix. It has been one of my favorite "munch" type snacks to make during the holidays for years. It is both colorful and delicious. Plus, you can change it for the seasons by changing the color or type of M&M's you … [Read more...]

Pumpkin Krispie Treats a la Halloween style!
While at Candace's house, she decided she wanted to make these Rice Krispie treats she had seen on Facebook. She wasn't feeling well that day, so Cameron and I went to the grocery store to buy the necessary ingredients. The recipe is based, of course, on the traditional Rice Krispie Treats recipe, but with the addition of orange food coloring, chocolate rolls candy (Tootsie Rolls), and green fruit rolls (Fruit Roll-ups).
I sent Cameron to find the green fruit rolls. He came back with a package that had green color on it with all these fancy names of the roll-ups inside. Here was the deduction: if the package has green on it, the roll-ups inside have to be green. Right? WRONG!!! Lol!!! The … [Read more...]

Easy Halloween Treats to make with little ones!
After seeing so many cute and Easy Halloween Treats on Pinterest and in emails, I decided to make some of them with my sister, Jeri's, grandkids.
Two of them were able to come: Jalynn and Duke. Jalynn is my niece, Amber's, oldest child, and Duke is my niece, Cara's, son. Amber's middle child, Jaycee Ruth, began running fever in at the afternoon at school, so she couldn't come and make treats:(
Jalynn is 9 and Duke is a little over 2 years old. So, they were the perfect age for me to help make these Easy Halloween Treats! We did have a couple of "helpers": Candace came to Mama's that day, so she took some pictures for us, and Cara really HELPED!
Cara helping Duke with the "eyes"
Making … [Read more...]

Xiomara's Authentic Guacamole from Guatemala!
We were so blessed to have Xiomara show us/ teach us how to make her Authentic Guacamole at our "South of the Border Cultural Food Fair" last week. Xiomara and her husband, Benjamin, who are from Guatemala, came to the United States in the 1980's. She shared with us how to make her Chicken Enchiladas, Mexican Rice, and this Guacamole. All of the food she showed us how to make were delicious! I'm waiting for the other recipes to share with you soon:)
I chose to name both Xiomara's and Amalia's recipes as "Authentic" because their recipes are from their home countries as they prepare them there.
One of the things that both Xiomara and Amalia expressed to us was the difference between the foods … [Read more...]

Maribeth Alexander,

I love to collect recipes, cook and entertain. I also love music! I have had a desire for some time to have a blog where I could bring my two passions--food and music--together. "Food and Forte" is the realization of that desire. Read More…

Favorite Desserts from Our Family

Favorite Desserts from Our Family includes is a 201 page collection of favorite cookies, pies and cakes from my mother (age 93) down to my youngest grandchildren. All recipes are “tried and true”, are still made and loved even today, and will surely please your loved ones as well.

Winter Wonderland of Sweets

O, the weather outside might be frightful, but inside your home, it can be delightful with these tasty wintery treats! What’s better than wrapping up in a nice warm blanket with a hot cup of coffee or cocoa, and sampling one or more of these yummy desserts? I think that is the perfect way to spend a winter afternoon when you don’t want to go out.

Thanksgiving Treasures

The Emergency Chef

This is a great resource to help you in preparing for emergencies by having your pantry stocked with usable foods, an alternate cooking station, and easy recipes to make to feed your family at any time, but especially in inconvenient times.

Christmas Treasures

Celebrate the Real Meaning of Christmas with Family Traditions, Recipes, Songs, Books, Movies, and Activities!

Frugal Feast: 31 Lower Cost and Healthier Chicken Entrees

The "Frugal Feasts: 31 Lower Cost and Healthier Chicken Entrees" cookbook contains recipes for chicken dishes that are less expensive to make and serve your family and friends. Plus, serving suggestions and tips on how to make the recipe healthier by substituting some of the ingredients.

Sweets for Sweetie

Valentine’s Day has long been a day for expressing love—love for one’s special someone. These expressions of love are often shown through greeting cards with messages of love, bouquets of flowers (especially red roses), and heart-shaped boxes of his or her favorite assorted chocolate candies. All of these say “I love you!” to the one who is the recipient of these gifts of the heart.

Love Themes

"Love Themes" is a collection of songs that portray ten emotions associated with love. Six songs are piano only, four are orchestrated. Some of the titles include: "Forgiveness", "Compassion", "Kiss", "Embrace", and more.